Declaration of Season
During the second week of July, the Virginia Tech Playing & Practice Season Declaration Form is distributed to the Head Coaches of all sports other than football and basketball. This form compiles important information regarding the playing & practice season and provides, on the back of the form, key guidelines and explanations concerning the application of Bylaw 17. For all sports, the form must be completed and returned to the Compliance Office no later than August 1.
First Dates of Practice and Competition, Number of Contests/Dates of Competition, and Number of Countable Days
First dates of practice and outside competition, the number of contests or dates of competition, as well as the number of countable days used in the planned playing & practice season (for all sports except football and basketball), are indicated on the Virginia Tech Playing & Practice Season Declaration Form. For the sports of football and basketball, first dates of practice and competition, as well as the number of contests, are approved by the Supervising Associate AD and the Senior Assistant AD for Compliance prior to June 1.
Scheduling and Missed-Class Policy
Pursuant to the University's missed-class policy, the Virginia Tech Athletics Scheduling Form is distributed to each Head Coach by his/her sport's Supervising Associate AD during the summer of each year. This form is used to compile information regarding competition times, conflicts with key academic dates, and the projected number of class days missed due to team travel and competition. It must be completed and returned to the Associate AD no later than August 15.
Recording of Daily and Weekly Hours
Beginning in the 2010-2011 academic year, every August, electronic copies of the Virginia Tech CARA Log are circulated to each head coach, or the person designated by the head coach, through Scoutware. Coaches are required to report the maximum amount of hours that any student-athlete on their team participated in on a given day and/or week. CARA logs are due on the 10th of each month for the preceding month. If the logs are not received by the conclusion of the month which they are due, all travel and meal expense vouchers, for that sport, will be held in the compliance office till the delinquent logs are received. The official active roster in the compliance office will be used to determine the student-athletes that participated in a given month. Any additions/deletions to that roster should go through the Assistant Director of Athletics Eligibility and Financial Aid. The Participation Record and Report provided at the end of a sport's season will be the official record of individuals participating in competition and/or athletically-related activities. The CARA Logs are designed ONLY to determine a sport's compliance to their declared season, the 4 hours a day and 20/8 hours per week regulations, and the required one/two days off per week.

Once the compliance office receives the CARA Log through Scoutware, compliance will then, in turn, provide a copy to every student-athlete on the sport's active roster. This will allow EVERY student-athlete to review their playing and practice season data for accuracy. At the beginning of the year meeting, compliance will provide information to all student-athletes outlining the playing and practice season regulations. It is their responsibility as student-athletes to review the material we will provide to them on a monthly basis and report anything they feel was reported inaccurately.

CARA Logs are required for ALL sports from August through May of EVERY year. The sports of Baseball, Softball, Track & Field will need to complete CARA logs for June, only if they participate in June.